Hancock

Man arrested in screwdriver assault

HANCOCK — A young Hancock resident was indicted this month on a felony first-degree assault charge, after he allegedly slashed and stabbed at a 16-year-old boy during a fight outside a Shady Lane residence on April 13.

Justin Bell, 18, of Hancock was indicted by a Hillsborough County Grand Jury on July 18. At the time of the alleged attack, Bell was 17 years old.

In April, Hancock Police Chief Andrew Wood wrote in a press release that a 16-year-old boy and his father came to the Hancock station at about noon on April 13. The boy said that approximately 15 minutes earlier, he had been at his home on Shady Lane when he heard yelling and screaming outside the house. When he went outside, the boy said, he saw his brother in an argument with a group of young people. The boy said Bell pushed him and a fight started.

Wood wrote that Bell pulled out a flat-tipped screwdriver and slashed and stabbed at the boy, who was injured in the torso and arm. Bell and others involved fled, but Bell was arrested in Francestown later in the day by N.H State Police.

The indictment handed down this month also states that the victim received lacerations to the arm and torso. According to the indictment, Bell was out on bail related to another incident at the time of the alleged attack.

The first-degree assault charge is a Class A felony, with a potential penalty of 3 1∕ 2 to 15 years in prison and a $4,000 fine.